Print on Demand

Take a look at this little wonder of printing technology:

This, or a machine similar, will be your bookstore of the future. No longer will you be limited for choice. No longer will you have to stand with your head at a funny angle trying to find your next purchase. No longer will stores have to have stock or sell-through rates or large amounts of floor space. No longer will the store clerk be able to stare at you quizzically when you ask for something other than a book from their display at the front of the store.

The bookstore of the future will print your book while you wait. It will be like a drive-thru or lunch bar for books. Granted the pricing I've seen for individual books is probably a bit pricey for stores, but that will come down as this technology is taken up. Plus Print On Demand (POD to book fans) is probably one of the few ways fans of dead trees will be able to feed their addiction to non-ebooks. It's either POD or having a guy in a long coat proposition you in the pub with a "great deal" on an "antique" that just "feel off a tree".